The Kiss Bet
by NaruDeeds
Summary: Tsunade is bored out of her mind when Sakura comes to her with a request. Seeing a chance for entertainment, Tsunade sets a plan in motion and makes a bet with her student.


Here's a lengthy, random, light-hearted oneshot for ya. Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno… those were two people that were very important to Tsunade Senju, the Godaime Hokage. Naruto had inspired her and dragged her out of her debilitating self-pity. He shared many similarities with some of the loved ones she had lost, and he continued to make her proud as he took on each new challenge.

Sakura was her treasured student. When Tsunade first met the girl, she was just starting to realize that there was more to life than just focusing on one boy. Tsunade took an interest in her when she was still a weak, self-conscious and unconfident little girl, and helped nurture and train her to become the fierce, strong, confident woman the world knew today. Their bond as teacher and student was a special bond that both cherished.

Normally, Tsunade would do anything for either Naruto or Sakura's happiness. But today wasn't just any normal day. It was an _exceptionally_ boring day. Nothing had happened. Nothing. No meetings, no missions to assign, and she was out of sake. There was absolutely nothing for her to do.

"Come on Lady Tsunade, please?"

Tsunade glanced up at the owner of the voice: Sakura. Now 23 years old, Sakura had come a long ways from what she was when Tsunade first met her (both mentally and physically). Sakura's body had matured well to go along with her mind. She kept her hair mid-length, and she had just recently started wearing the same outfit she wore when she was 15.

"Say something Tsunade!" Sakura whined. "Can I have tomorrow off or not? I really want to go to that Art Exhibit, and it will only be in Konoha for one day!"

A mischievous glint appeared in Tsunade's eyes. A plan was forming in her mind that would eliminate her boredom problem.

"You want a day off, do you? Well… why don't we make this interesting with a little bet…"

"You really have got to get over gambling…" Sakura groaned. "Fine, as long as it will get me tomorrow off so I can check out the Art Exhibit tomorrow, I'll do it."

"Perfect!" Tsunade grinned. "Here's the bet: you have to kiss Naruto. If you manage to kiss him by the end of the day, not only will I give you tomorrow off, I'll give you the entire rest of the week, including the weekend, off. However, if you fail to kiss Naruto by the end of the day, you not only do not get the day off, but you have to spend at least three hours a day helping me with paperwork for the next month."

"What the hell kind of bet is that?" Sakura blushed. "And come on… Naruto isn't going to stop me if I want to kiss him."

"Well then, I don't see why you wouldn't accept the bet."

Sakura sighed. She knew how Naruto felt about her, and even after all these years, she still wasn't _entirely_ sure how she felt about him… She would just have to make sure she clearly explained to Naruto what was going on, and why exactly she was doing it.

"Fine. I accept the bet. Do I need to bring him here to kiss him?"

"No, no." Tsunade smiled. "I trust you won't lie to me. Now let me make this abundantly clear. When I say kiss, I mean kiss. No peck on the cheek, no quick peck on the lips. You have to full on kiss him."

"I figured. Well, I'll be back shortly then. But… for the record, I would just like to officially state that this bet is ridiculous, and you should seek help."

"The record notes it." Tsunade grinned. "Now you should get going. It's already noon. Half the day is gone already!"

"Like I need it..." Sakura rolled her eyes. This was going to be the easiest bet ever. "See you soon."

As soon as Sakura was gone, Tsunade flared her chakra. She started writing instructions down on a piece of paper. On cue, one of her personal ANBU guards appeared in a poof of smoke in front of her.

"You called Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade finished writing her instructions, and rolled the paper up.

"Here, take this and give it to Ino Yamanka. Tell her she is to follow the instructions on this paper – Hokage's orders." The ANBU guard nodded and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Tsunade grinned and pulled out the crystal ball that her teacher/predecessor used to use to monitor the village. It had been a while since she used this thing, but this was her key to an entertaining day. Her grin widened as the small orb flared to life. This was going to be fun.

* * *

The sun shined brightly and a gentle breeze shifted the spiky blonde-hair of a with shining sapphire eyes that looked extremely bored. He glanced at his companion whose pale skin, black hair and dark, raven eyes were a stark contrast to his own.

"I never thought I would say this… But I miss the war." The man groaned. "At least there was always something to do back then! There is nothing going on the village today! And I already got kicked off the training grounds for doing too much damage! How is it my fault that my new rasengan variant just happens to uproot all nearby trees and fling them in random directions? It's called training!"

His companion smiled ruefully. "A little peace and quiet never hurt anyone, Naruto."

"But it's sooooo boring, Sasuke! Hey, I know, wanna spar?"

"You're not allowed on the training grounds for the rest of the day. Where would we spar?"

"Right here! I'll be careful, I promise!"

"We would destroy an entire sector of the village if we tried sparring here." Sasuke chuckled. It amused him that, even after all these years, and after all the growth he had witnessed from his blonde-haired friend, Naruto still remained the same, hyperactive kid that used to annoy the hell out of him when they were younger.

"That's an excuse if I've ever heard it! But I get it. You're scared to spar against me, because you know I'll totally kick your ass." Naruto said, trying to rile up his friend.

"Oh yes, as you can see, I'm quivering in fear." Sasuke replied in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Damnit!" Naruto groaned. "That would have worked when you were younger! Accept my provocation!" Sasuke simply shook his head.

Naruto stared at his friend, hoping that if he stared long enough Sasuke would decide to give in.

"Will you stop staring at me like that?" Sasuke said with a calm, neutral look on his face.

As Naruto continued staring at Sasuke, he couldn't help but think how amazing it was that they were here. In what seemed like a lifetime ago, Sasuke abandoned the village and fell into darkness. But Naruto never gave up hope, and when he needed his help the most, Sasuke appeared and helped them defeat Madara. After the battle was finished and things started to calm down, many were calling for Sasuke to be imprisoned, or even for his head for his crimes.

But again, Naruto didn't give up. He argued, he pleaded, hell, sometimes he physically fought… And in the end, all of his thick-headed stubbornness resulted in Sasuke being allowed to return to Konoha. It wasn't all the same of course. Sasuke had to serve a 10 year probation, during which time he could not go on any missions or use his chakra without supervision. But, it was still much better than how it could have turned out.

"Seriously Naruto, stop staring at me." Sasuke said. Glimpses of annoyance could be seen slowly breaking through his calm look. Instead of verbally replying, Naruto just squinted his eyes and continued staring.

When Sasuke returned to Konoha, things didn't all return to normal, and Naruto expected that. Sakura didn't become the gushing, love-obsessed girl she had been before Sasuke left, and Team 7 didn't just click right away. They had been away from each other for so long, new team members had been added, and the old team members' personalities had naturally shifted slightly with age. But time helped smooth over the awkward ruffles, and eventually, their team fell in with one another again.

"That's enough, Naruto! Stop staring at me like that. You're creeping me out!" Now Sasuke was visibly annoyed. Very soon he would break through, and very soon he would put some action into this boring day. He continued staring as his mind continued reflecting.

Once their team became comfortable again, Naruto fully expected Sakura and Sasuke to get together. Or, at the very least, he expected Sakura to try to get with Sasuke. And while the two of them went on a couple casual dates, they never seemed to progress any further than that. It was strange, but Naruto didn't intervene. It wasn't his place to.

Sasuke would realize what a great girl Sakura was eventually, and Sakura would get the guy she wanted all along. Seeing that he still loved Sakura, it wasn't exactly what Naruto _wanted_ to happen. But he knew that it was going to happen. He figured (hoped) that once the two of them actually got together and that door was officially closed off to him, he would move on and find someone of his own.

"Damnit, Naruto! STOP STARING AT ME!" Sasuke yelled. He was clearly starting to get unsettled. Naruto fought to keep the grin off his face. This spar was going to be epic! To maintain control of his facial features, Naruto forced his thoughts back on the path they had been following.

The inevitably that was Sasuke and Sakura was something Naruto had come to accept, in part, because of his friend's growth. When they were kids, deep down, Naruto had trouble really accepting Sasuke as Sakura's choice because he felt Sakura deserved better. Back then, Sasuke was a cold, moody, self-obsessed jerk who happened to have a good heart, and who just so happened to be able to understand Naruto's own pain of loneliness a little. Naruto had respected him, and even called him friend. But Sakura deserved someone that would really care about her, and when they were kids, that just wasn't Sasuke.

In the years since Sasuke had returned to Konoha, however, he changed. He never lost what Naruto liked to refer to as his moodiness, but he did start to really see the people around him. He had started to think about others and even trying to help out those that were his friends. Sasuke had actually become… _friendly_. Well, as friendly as Sasuke could physically become anyways.

It was that change that also let Naruto accept Sasuke as a hokage candidate. Sasuke had stated many times over since returning that his goal was to become the hokage and restore honor to his clan's name, and Naruto respected that goal. But like hell he was going to let Sasuke take his dream job; he was already standing aside so the guy could have his dream girl.

"Alright. You want to spar? Let's spar…" Sasuke growled, his hand suddenly crackling with electricity.

Naruto grinned. The irony was not lost on him that it was _his_ patience causing Sasuke to lose his cool. When they were kids, that situation was always reversed.

"Bring it on you…"

"Ah there you are Naruto!" A feminine voice called, interrupting the moment. Sasuke turned his head towards the voice, blinked as he realized what he had almost done, and then let the chakra dissipate from his hand.

"Good timing, Ino." Sasuke said. "I almost gave into this idiot. We would've destroyed an entire district had you not showed up."

"No, BAD timing, Ino!" Naruto groaned. "I managed to goad him into a spar! Do you know how hard that is?!"

"You…you just never really change, do you Naruto?" Ino chuckled. "Well, I came here to save your ass. So you could show me a little gratitude."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well… I wanted to warn you that Sakura is pissed at you… I mean, _really_ pissed." Ino said, recounting the details of the document she had received from the hokage not too long ago.

"WHAT?! What did I do? Shit! I've been careful all week not to piss her off! Damnit damnit damnit! I don't want to go to the hospital again this month!"

"Relax." Ino soothed. "That's why I'm here warning you. I don't want to put up with your ass in the hospital again either! Having to put up with you as a patient at least once a week for the past three weeks is quite enough!"

"Thanks for the warning. What did I do to piss her off again?"

"She found out about you using the sexy no jutsu recently…" Ino said. In the document she received from the hokage, Tsunade said she couldn't actually verify this detail. She just assumed that Naruto had. But she instructed Ino to pay close attention to this part, and think on her feet if needed.

"SHIT! How the hell did she find out about that? I was just messing with Ebisu! Wait… I bet that bastard told her! Damnit Ebisu-sensei!"

Ino rolled her eyes. Looks like she could stick to the script.

"It doesn't matter how Sakura found out, what matters is that she did, and I know exactly what she's planning."

"And you're going to tell me right? Please tell me. If I know her plan, I could…"

"Yes you dumbass!" Ino smirked. "We've already been over this, I don't want to deal with you in the hospital again."

"You are a god send, Ino." Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. If he knew what Sakura's plan was, he could take the necessary steps to avoid her wrath.

"So, as I said, Sakura is furious, but she told me that you wouldn't see her anger coming. She was going to play it cool with you."

"Really? That's new. Usually, when she's mad, I can feel the ground quaking beneath her feet before she comes and pummels me into oblivion."

"Well, our Sakura is becoming more devious with age. She doesn't want to give you any warning this time. She recently developed a new jutsu that completely shuts down a person's chakra network. Well, it doesn't _completely_ shut it down. The person can still move normally, and his body functions as it normally would. BUT the person can't use their chakra for anything. If she hits you with this jutsu, you won't be able to use your chakra for two weeks."

"TWO WEEKS?! SHIT!"

"It gets worse." Ino went on with a grave look on her face. "Sakura found a way to combine that jutsu with another one she developed."

"Another one? What does it do?"

"Well, it utilizes a person's chakra points to send jolts to their body. Without going into the technical details, if she hits you with that jutsu, you will spend the next two weeks getting continuously shocked by every single chakra point in your body."

Naruto shivered. That did not sound pleasant at all.

"Thanks for warning me, Ino. Anything I should look for that lets me know she's going for either of the jutsus?"

"That's just it, she's found a way to combine them both into one jutsu that doesn't require any sort of hand seals, or any sort of auditory invocation."

"Damnit! How the hell am I supposed to defend against that?"

"If I wasn't here, you would be completely screwed. Because I can guarantee, with 100 percent certainty, that you would not be able to defend against it."

"Just tell me already!"

"She delivers the combined jutsu through a kiss. That's why you won't figure out that she's mad. She's planning on just coming up to you, telling you she made some dumb bet with the hokage to kiss you and then plant that jutsu right on you!"

"Shit! There's no way I would've said no to that! She is getting more devious!"

"And Naruto, you can't tell Sakura that you know of her plan. If you do, she'll just switch tactics and you'll still end up in the hospital."

"You're right! I've got to play it cool… Thanks Ino. I owe you for this."

"No problem." Ino smiled. "I've gotta get going now; good luck Naruto. Sasuke, mind walking with me? I need to go to the Hokage Tower. Tsunade wants to show us something."

"Sure. Good luck with all that, Naruto." Sasuke smirked. He followed after Ino. It was nice to see that some things never changed. Although… he would admit that Sakura's intended punishment did not fit the crime. That jutsu sounded like it should be considered a form of torture.

* * *

"Thanks. If you see him again, tell him I'm looking for him." Sakura said, thanking a villager who just told her where he saw Naruto a couple of hours ago. Apparently, her teammate had been kicked out of the training grounds this morning for doing too much damage. She smiled wryly at the thought. That sounded like something he would do.

She headed in the direction the villager had pointed her in. The sooner she found him, the sooner she could kiss him and the sooner she could start planning out her day at the art exhibit. For some odd reason, a few butterflies fluttered around her stomach when she thought about kissing Naruto. It wasn't like she was going to kiss him out of love, it was just going to be a quick kiss to win her bet, then they would both be on their ways.

She rounded the corner and finally spotted the head of spiky, blonde hair she had been looking for.

"Naruto!"

Naruto turned at the sound of her voice. Sakura was used to being greeted by a smile whenever she greeted him… but not this time. For whatever reason, he looked like he was nervous and trying to hide it. If she wasn't so eager to win the bet and start planning out her day tomorrow, she probably would have asked him what was up. But she had things to accomplish today!

"Sakura. How are you? In good spirits?"

Sakura quirked an eyebrow. That was definitely not the greeting she usually received from him. Something was up. Instead of asking about it though, she just flashed him a smile and made a mental note to check in with him tomorrow after the exhibit to get to the bottom of this.

"Yep! And you can help make my day even better! Will you help me?"

"Depends what it is that you need help with."

"Alright, this is going to sound weird, but bear with me. You know that art exhibit that is coming through town tomorrow? The one that is only going to be in Konoha for _one_ day?"

"Umm… I think I remember you mentioning it."

"Well I'm scheduled to work a 14 hour shift at the hospital tomorrow. I would be working during the entire time the exhibit is open. However, there are a lot of people scheduled, and I'm not really needed. So I asked Lady Tsunade to give me the day off."

"Ok…"

"She must have been bored or something, because she didn't give me the day off. Instead, she made a bet with me. And I swear to god this is a real bet. I know you won't believe it, but… I have to kiss you by the end of the day. If I do, I get tomorrow and the rest of the week and weekend off. If I don't, I work my scheduled shift tomorrow _and_ I have to help Tsunade-sama with paperwork for at least three hours a day for an entire month! So, that's why I'm going to kiss you now. Ok?"

Naruto stared at Sakura carefully. He couldn't believe how well she was hiding her anger! This was troubling. If Sakura could hide her anger this well, and she planned on doing it to give him unexpected punishment… well he was screwed. Because if Ino hadn't warned him, he would be playing straight into Sakura's hands right now. He would be excited and grinning, thinking it was his lucky day. When really, all he would be doing is walking straight into a trap that would be sprung by Sakura's very kissable lips. Now he needed a way to turn Sakura down, without letting on the fact that he was onto her.

"No thanks!" He "smoothly" yelped.

"No thanks? I'm saying that I'm going to kiss you, and you are saying no thanks?"

"Umm… yep!"

"Let me go a little further… I'm saying I'm going to kiss you, and if I don't, I'm going to be screwed for the next month. So, you currently have the opportunity to kiss me AND help me out, and you're saying no?"

"See? You said it better than I could, Sakura-chan! Well, I'll just be going…"

"Well I didn't expect this… but I probably should have. You're a kind, caring and helpful guy, but you're also clever…" Sakura mused.

Naruto started to inwardly panic. She figured out that he knew! Here it came! Here came her righteous fury! He tensed the muscles in his legs, preparing to flee for his life at a second's notice. His heart sped up and started beating furiously as Sakura's facial features started to change. Here it comes…

She flashed him a proud smile.

"You know that you have me in a tough position, so you can get something else out of it for yourself too. Very good. You might just make a decent hokage yet! So, go ahead. Make your demands. A date, two, three?"

Naruto stared at Sakura, completely flabbergasted. Just how good at this was she? She didn't know that he knew that she was furious at him. And if Ino hadn't given him a warning, there was no way in hell he would have even an _inkling_ that she was mad. If he didn't actually know better, he would believe she was genuinely proud of him! And what was this about making demands?

"You've got to think about it, eh? I understand. But, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this wrapped up so I can start planning my day at the exhibit tomorrow. Make your demands, and if you have more later, I'll entertain them."

"My demands… right. Umm… I demand that we go on at least one date a week for the next six months!"

"Six months? You realize you're asking me to agree to 32 dates with you right? Won't you get a little sick of me?"

"Never!" Naruto continued to be both impressed and terrified at how good Sakura was at hiding her anger. This was unreal! He asked her out on 32 dates and she didn't so much as smack him upside the head, scowl or scold him. There wasn't even the _hint_ of an annoyed or angry look flashing across her pretty face. He had specifically gone with that ridiculous of a time frame because he was completely sure there was no way she would even consider accepting it. AND he _knew_ it would finally give him a glimpse of the anger she was so expertly hiding from him.

"Ok… so a date a week for the next six months. You'll be paying I presume?" Sakura hummed.

"Of course!" Naruto blurted out. It was just an automatic response for him at this point.

"You drive a tough bargain, Mr. Uzumaki. But you have yourself a…"

"AND you have to… ummm… clean my apartment!" Naruto quickly blurted out before Sakura could finalize their deal and draw him into her terrifying and painful trap. Naruto was confident this would set her over the edge. She hated how messy he let his apartment get, and she always refused to come over unless they planned it out a week in advance, and he swore that he would spend the week cleaning it. There was no way she would agree to this, and he could get out of this without having to let Sakura know he was onto her. She would decline the deal, he would say it was the only way he would accept it, and then she would be forced to let him go. This was a master plan if he ever thought of one!

"Ouch. Now you're just piling it on." Sakura frowned. But she didn't seem to be phased. She just shrugged her shoulders. Naruto was starting to get seriously unsettled at how good she was at this.

"But fine. You have yourself…"

"You also have to wear a tanktop that shows plenty of cleavage when we train!" Naruto quickly added. If there was one thing he could count on, it was that Sakura hated him when he did anything remotely pervy. That's why he was in this mess in the first place! There was no way in hell she would accept this provision. Of course… she would probably end up clobbering him for this new pervy suggestion… It was better than suffering through the horrible jutsu that kiss would bring him though.

"You're joking right…" Sakura quirked an eyebrow at Naruto. At first, she had been proud of him for seeing that he was in a good position to bargain. If he was going to be hokage, he needed to be a great negotiator. That was why she so easily accepted his absurd request of 32 dates. She could've pushed back and bargained the number down, but she decided to reward him instead. Besides, she didn't mind getting dinner with him once a week.

When he sprung the apartment on her, she figured he was testing the grounds. Seeing just how much he could get out of this. And if he wasn't going to be the future hokage, she would've smacked him upside the head. But again, she decided to reward him and accept. It's not like she didn't owe him for everything he had done for anyways. She wouldn't enjoy cleaning his apartment, but it would be good to do something nice for him for a change.

But this latest suggestion. It was like he was _trying_ to get her to call off the whole thing. And that didn't make sense. Naruto wanted to kiss her; she was sure of it. So he couldn't possibly be doing that. This had to be some sort of terrible joke.

"Nope! That's going to be part of the deal!"

"Naruto…" Sakura said, struggling to remain patient. She _had_ been proud of him for recognizing the position he was in for bargaining, but now he was starting to toe the line. "I have accepted all of your demands so far, and I think we can both say they are a bit ridiculous. It's not like I'm making you do something embarrassing. Remember, when we make this deal, I'm going to kiss you. Surely, you see that your latest suggestion is not just pervy and inappropriate, but entirely unreasonable. That suggestion was not one a hokage would make."

Naruto was going to have to buy a journal just so he could write down every detail of this moment. Not only had Sakura accepted his previous outrageous demands, but instead of striking him down for his pervy one, she was offering him a lifeline to take it back. He could definitely see that she was getting annoyed, but it seemed like that was entirely because of his latest suggestion. From now on, whenever some genin came to him to ask for some advice on masking emotions, he would just send them Sakura's way. Because she was truly the master.

"Ok, ok. I was just kidding." Naruto flashed a shaky grin. "But you can't kill a guy for trying, right?"

"Oh I certainly can." Sakura grinned. "But for some reason, I happen to like you and I would be really sad if you were dead. So you live, for now, since you took it back. Can we please just make the deal now? I'd say you're getting a pretty good thing here."

Naruto couldn't argue with Sakura there. Hell, he was tempted to walk straight into Sakura's trap and let her use that horrible jutsu against him just so she would have to put up her end of the deal! But he quickly shivered at the thought of not being able to use his chakra for two weeks while his chakra points shocked the crap out of him.

"No way!"

"Naruto!" Sakura pouted. "Come on, let's just make the deal. Don't you want to kiss me?" The look she was currently flashing him would be enough to get him to do anything she wanted… if he didn't know that she was secretly trying to lure him in so she could hit him with a horrible, painful and twisted jutsu. It took all of his willpower to resist that face. He kept reminding himself of the physical pain that would come if he kissed her. Still… maybe it would be worth it… So he would be in pain, and not be able to use chakra for two weeks… Who cares? Maybe he should just…

Naruto shook his head back and forth to stop his thoughts. This wasn't good. If he stuck around, he would walk right into Sakura's trap in no time! He needed to get the hell away from her before things took a turn for the worse. He just needed to do it subtly, so she wouldn't know what's up.

"NO DEAL! BYE!"

"What, are you freaking…"

Naruto turned tail and ran for his life.

"NARUTO! GET BACK HERE!"

"Shit! That wasn't subtle. She knows! SHIT SHIT SHIT! SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME!" A panic unlike any other that Naruto had ever felt took hold of his body and mind. His legs moved of their own, desperate accord. His mind shunned any thoughts that weren't related to escape. His survival instincts had kicked in.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, BUT STOP RUNNING SO I CAN KISS YOU!" Sakura roared. Her voice was much closer than Naruto had expected. He glanced over his shoulder and wished he hadn't. Apparently, Sakura's ninja instincts were sharp as ever. Even though he was the first to spring and run, she must've reacted the exact same second.

He had no idea where he was going, but his body seemed to have a plan. He ducked, jumped and weaved through the village in a hazardous and random zig zag, but Sakura remained fast on his trail. He saw the training grounds he had been kicked out of earlier in the distance. Apparently, that's where his body thought he could escape.

Yamato, the person in charge of the cleaning crew that was trying to repair the damage done to the grounds, saw Naruto coming with Sakura hot on his trail.

"Oh shit, NO NO NO! DON'T COME HERE WITH HER LIKE THAT! YOU WERE KICKED OUT OF THE TRAINING GROUNDS!" Yamato yelled. But Naruto paid him no mind; he simply zoomed straight past him. Sakura, however, decided that she had ran enough. Instead of running past Yamato, she leaped into the air over him.

"SHIT! SAKURA DON'T DO THAT!"

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at Yamato's voice, and was surprised that he couldn't see Sakura chasing after him. He wondered where she went, although he didn't wonder for a long. He glanced down to see a shadow descending on him and swore.

"SHANAROO!" Naruto leaped back just as Sakura's fist neared his head. Her strike missed him, and went into the ground causing a massive impact crater.

"AWWW NO!" Yamato cried. "WE JUST RESTORED THAT!"

"N-now Sakura-chan, calm down!" Naruto stammered. This was the anger he had been expecting earlier. He should be relieved that she wasn't hiding it anymore, but he didn't feel relieved. If he was a lesser man, he would probably piss his pants in fear.

"You want me to calm down? I'll calm down, Naruto. Just as soon as you let me kiss you."

"WHAT? THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT? NARUTO LET THE DAMN GIRL KISS YOU, THEN THE BOTH OF YOU GET OUT OF HERE!"

"No can do Captain Yamato!"

"No can do?" Sakura growled. "Fine then, I'll be rough." She wasn't sure why Naruto didn't want her to kiss him, but she wasn't happy. She didn't fully understand why it made her so angry, but she didn't have time to think about that. She had to plant one on Naruto Uzumaki at all costs. No way was she going to miss that exhibit tomorrow.

Spotting an uprooted tree near the surface of her impact crater, Sakura quickly flickered to it. She smirked as Naruto's eyes widened in fear as she effortlessly grabbed a hold of the fallen tree.

"This is going to hurt! But it all ends as soon as I kiss you!" Sakura swung at Naruto with the tree, but he replaced himself with a nearby boulder that was created from her prior attack. The wood of the tree connected with the hard rock, causing both to smash apart. Sakura wasn't discouraged though. She wasn't sure why, but there were a ton of uprooted trees here. And thanks to Captain Yamato's cleaning crew, most of them were stacked in one, easy-to-access pile for her.

She ran over to the pile, grabbed a tree and threw it at Naruto. Seeing a full-sized tree come hurtling towards his face didn't make Naruto any more calm. If he was calm, he could've easily dodged it, or even used some form of rasengan to smash it apart. But he wasn't calm, his mind wasn't thinking rationally; he was terrified. He put his arms up in an X in front of him to block the tree.

That went just about as well as a rational thinking person would expect. The tree clobbered Naruto, causing his arms to throb in pain and knocking him backwards on his ass. He squirmed desperately, trying to wriggle out from underneath the tree.

Seeing this, Sakura smirked and picked up another tree.

"Try and turn my kiss down will you? EAT THIS!" She leaped into the air and brought the tree back in her hand like it was some kind of toy club. She flipped her body mid-air to angle downwards and descended on him like some kind of terrifying missile.

Naruto again used the substitution jutsu just in time, substituting himself with the tree weighing him down. He leaned back, narrowly avoiding the tree that Sakura swung. The sheer force of Sakura's swing caused it to start cutting through the ground before splintering and exploding outwards in a hail of wood chunks and chips. Before Naruto could react, Sakura caught him in the chest with a kick, sending him flying through the air and crashing straight through the pile of uprooted trees.

"NOOOO! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK US TO GET ALL THE TREES IN THAT PILE?!" Yamato cried.

Sakura, however, didn't pay any attention to Yamato. She had her prey on the ropes. She was about to put this whole ridiculous situation behind her and win the damn bet. She pushed chakra into her legs and flickered to where Naruto had skidded to a halt. His eyes widened in fear seeing her.

"THIS IS THE END!" Sakura attempted to stomp Naruto's chest into the ground, but he rolled out of the way. The resulting stomp caused the ground to uproot, flinging Naruto into the air.

"STOP DODGING!" Sakura grabbed the uprooted ground and yanked hard, pulling out a very large slab of earth. She was starting to get extremely frustrated and angry with him now. Did he really not want to kiss her this badly? That thought made her blood boil, and it also kind of hurt. Why didn't he want to kiss her? What was wrong with her? Did he not like her anymore? Did he think she was ugly or disgusting or something? He was the guy who always made her feel pretty no matter what state she was in. He was the guy that had kept her convinced she was beautiful even when she was getting rejected left and right by another guy back when they were kids. But now look at him. He was struggling desperately to escape her kiss!

"JUST TAKE THIS SO I CAN KISS YOU ALREADY!" She flung the slab of earth at Naruto with all of the force she could muster.

Naruto summoned a shadow clone to try to cushion the blow, but it did not last long. The slab tore right through it and slammed into Naruto's body. He cried out in pain, but managed to summon a giant rasengan to smash the thing to pieces before it's momentum sent him flying off somewhere far away from Konoha.

He landed awkwardly, but Sakura didn't give him a chance to get his bearings. She was on him before he could even try to figure out where she was.

"STOP…" Sakura punched him in the get, causing him to double over. "RESISTING…" She kneed him in the face, sending him back up. "DAMNIT!" She swept his leg and drove his falling body down into the ground. The force of the impact caused yet another crater to form, but Sakura wasn't deterred in the slightest. She quickly leaped down on him, grabbed both of his hands and pinned them above his head.

Naruto glanced up fearfully at her. He tried squirming in a desperate attempt to escape, but Sakura's powerful thighs had him firmly locked in place. To make matters worse, he wasn't going to be able to free his hands up to use a jutsu any time soon. This was it… She was going to lean down, kiss him and use that horrible jutsu on him. All because he used the sexy jutsu. He thought it was a bit overkill… but Sakura had quite the temper…

Sakura panted heavily as she stared down at the terrified face of her teammate. She did it. She caught him. She won. Now all she had to do was lean down and kiss him. She would win her bet with Tsunade and get the rest of the week off. After his initial squirming failed, Naruto had completely given up resisting… but she simply stared down at him.

"S-sakura?"

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you want to kiss me?" Sakura frowned. "Do you think I'm ugly? Is the thought of kissing me so unpleasant, that you really had to go through all of this?" She motioned at the impact crater they were in.

Still afraid of taking her horrible jutsu, Naruto remained quiet. He didn't know what he could say to save himself now. She was going to unleash pure hell on him for the next two weeks…

"Do you not like me anymore or something?" Sakura quietly asked when she saw he wasn't going to respond. She wasn't sure why that thought hurt so much, but it did. The realization that Naruto did not like her, and was so desperate to avoid her that he forced her to go to such extreme lengths to capture him…it hurt more than she thought it could. It was a little startling to realize just how much his affection meant to her.

Naruto's own fear quickly melted away when he saw the look of hurt on Sakura's face. All that worry about his own survival went out the window when he realized that _he_ was making _her_ feel bad.

"Not like you? I love you!" Naruto blurted out without thinking. Both his and Sakura's eyes widened simultaneously. He had not meant to say that.

"Err… I mean, of course I like you. I always have."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. He just said he loved her. _Love_. There was no deception on his face, he was telling the absolute truth. She didn't fully understand why her heart skipped a beat like that, but now she was extremely confused.

"If you love me, why are you fighting so hard not to kiss me? ESPECIALLY considering you could have gotten a kiss, your apartment cleaned, and a date with me each week for the next six months?"

When she put it like that… he certainly did seem kind of crazy. His concern over her almost caused him to forget about the unbearable torture those pretty lips of hers would cause when they connected with his own.

"Because I'm scared!"

"Scared? About what?" Was he scared that a kiss between the two of them would lead to something? If he loved her, why would he be scared? If anyone should be scared, she should be! She wasn't sure how she felt about him!

"I know the truth, Sakura! I know that you found out about me using the sexy jutsu, and I know that you're super pissed. I ALSO know that, instead of chasing me down and pummeling me like you normally do, you concocted a much more subtle and tortuous punishment this time. I know that you have a jutsu, that doesn't require any hand signs, that if it connects, will prevent me from being able to use my chakra for two weeks AND make my chakra points shock me for two weeks!"

"What in the hell…"

"AND…" Naruto went on, cutting Sakura off. "I know that the way you deliver this jutsu is through a kiss. AND I also happen to know that's exactly what you are planning. You're going to kiss me and use that terrible jutsu on me, and I'm going to spend the next two weeks getting shocked and unable to use my chakra!"

"So that's why you didn't want to kiss me… You thought I would unleash some terrible jutsu on you?" Sakura said, an amused smile slowly breaking out on her face.

"I _know_! I'm not falling for your tricks, Sakura! I mean… there's not much I can do right now to save myself… but I will not be fooled!"

"Aren't you clever…" Sakura smirked. "So that's the only reason, right? If you didn't have to fear that horrible jutsu, you would want to kiss me?"

"Of course I would!"

"Good to know." Sakura smiled. "Well, ready to experience my horrifying jutsu?"

"Please don't!"

"Sorry Naruto. No escape now." Sakura grinned playfully. It suddenly struck her that this was going to be her first, real kiss. She never imagined that her first kiss would be with a boy who was freaking terrified for his life and flashing her a look like she was about to hit him with some unimaginable torture… but considering who it was with, and the nature of their relationship, this was strangely appropriate.

"No, no no!" Naruto yelled as Sakura lowered her lips towards his. "Please! I won't ever use the sexy jutsu again! I sw…mmmph!" She cut Naruto's protests off with her own lips. As she expected, his reaction was priceless. He stopped protesting _real_ quick and he tentatively started to return the kiss.

What she did _not_ expect, however, was the feeling _she_ would get. A feeling sparked throughout her entire body that made her feel warm, excited and happy all in one. Naruto's lips felt absolutely amazing, and she suddenly found that she did not want to stop this kiss… for anything. So what was supposed to be a kiss slowly turned into her making out with Naruto. She idly realized that she still had his hands restrained and let them go so she could wrap her arms around him.

When she felt his arms wrap around her, something primal in her reacted. She smiled into their kiss and pressed her lips against his with more force. She could tell she surprised him, and she used that surprise to slip her tongue inside his mouth. Naruto's lips curved upwards into a smile against her own.

Sakura moaned as Naruto's tongue met hers. Their tongues battled for dominance, and the both of them seemed to lose track of where each other's mouths began. Sakura started to reposition her legs so she could get in a more comfortable position.

"ALRIGHT ALREADY! You kissed him! Now get the hell out of here!" Yamato yelled, interrupting the pair.

Sakura pulled back with a startled look on her face. Her lips were tingling. She stared down at Naruto's lips and wanted more. She started to lean down to recapture his lips…

"NO! Absolutely not! The two of you completely re-wrecked this training ground. Get out of here!"

Sakura turned her head at him and frowned. "You're mean, Captain Yamato."

Naruto was in too much of a stupor to chime in. Sakura kissed him… she didn't just kiss him, she _kissed_ him! The kiss didn't seem to be to hit him with some sort of horrible jutsu. Instead, it left him feeling more alive than he had ever been.

"And you wrecked my training ground after my team and I spent hours restoring it! Do you think it's easy for me to make full-grown trees sprout up? Or to reform the very earth itself?"

"Fine. We're going." Sakura huffed. She stood up and offered Naruto a hand, which he took. As she pulled him up she noticed just how beat up he was after her assault. She frowned a little. Maybe she had gotten a _little_ out of hand.

Naruto winced in pain now that he was standing. It hurt having Sakura sit on his chest (after taking a full grown tree, a giant slab of earth and some chakra-enhanced blows…) but he had gotten used to it quickly enough. Now that he was standing and moving again, he remembered that Sakura totally walloped him. She seemed to be having that realization too. She put his arm over her shoulder and helped him out of the crater she had made when she drove him into the ground.

"I'll heal you once we get out of here." Sakura promised. "Come on."

"Good! The two of you are banned from the training grounds for the rest of the month! Figure out how to train and release your emotions in a _less_ destructive manner!"

Sakura glanced around the training ground. It really was bad. She had smashed apart all the uprooted trees and left a few, new, sizeable craters. She offered Yamato a sheepish smile.

"Sorry about that Captain Yamato. I uh… I guess I got a little carried away."

"A little carried away." Yamato sighed. "Just go. You should probably take Naruto to the hospital."

Sakura took that as their cue to leave, and helped Naruto walk back into the village. She led him to a bench, sat him down and set about healing all the damage she had inflicted on his body.

"I'm sorry Naruto… I didn't mean to hurt you this badly." Sakura frowned. "Just sit still, it will take me a bit, but I can get you back to 100 percent."

"Ok…" Naruto awkwardly replied. He wasn't sure what to do. They had just shared an amazing kiss/make out session. But Sakura was in full on medic mode, and other than a surprised look when she first pulled away, she hadn't said anything about it. Were they just going to pretend like it never happened? Was that what she wanted?

"If you haven't figure it out yet, I was messing with you when I said I was going to hit you with that ridiculous jutsu by the way." Sakura said. She didn't take her eyes off his forearm, which she was currently working on healing.

"I figured that out when all my chakra points didn't start shocking me." Naruto dryly replied.

"Honestly Naruto, where did you get the idea of that jutsu? I don't know of any jutsu that could do that. Even if I did, I wouldn't use it on you! Do you honestly think I would want you to be unable to use your chakra for two weeks, while constantly getting shocked?"

"It seemed like a bit of overkill… but you have a bit of a temper."

"I do not!"

"Sakura… look at me. Then try to say that again."

"…touche. But I only let myself do this to you, because I know you can take it and I can heal it! I wouldn't have the first clue what to do if your chakra points started shocking you!"

"I'll keep that in mind for next time…" Naruto replied. "Although… this is the first time you've actually healed me after pounding me. I've been in the hospital at least once a week so far this month."

"Well this is the first time you didn't deserve it." Sakura huffed.

"Oh yes. I definitely deserved to go to the hospital after sneaking up on you last week."

"You surprised me! You know how I react when I'm surprised. That one's on you."

"And I definitely deserved to go to the hospital when I tripped and fell onto you the week before that."

"Your hand grazed my boob! That had to be intentional."

"And last, but not least, for this month anyways, I definitely deserved to go to the hospital when you thought I was checking that tea girl out three weeks ago."

"I thought? Oh no. You totally checked that poor girl out. And I was right there! If you think I will just stand idly by while you devolve into some perverted jackass, you have another thing coming!"

"I was not…" Naruto sighed. "Nope, not getting into that again." They settled into an odd silence.

He waited for Sakura to say something else, but her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. Whatever she was doing must've been complex, but it was certainly working. Her soothing chakra was doing wonders on his arms.

When he was sure she wasn't looking, he allowed a small frown to flitter across his face. It appeared that she had no intention of talking about what happened. It looked like that was going to be a one and done type deal. It sucked that she apparently did not want to acknowledge it, but at least he had one hell of a good memory to cherish now.

"There, your arms are good as new. I don't know why you tried to block that tree instead of dodging. It's a miracle your forearms only had minor fractures!" Sakura weakly scolded. The look on her face made it clear that she felt bad about it.

"I was too busy being terrified for my life to really get in a fighting mindset."

"I suppose you were… I did make things pretty scary for you." Sakura admitted. She placed her hands on his chest and began repairing the damage.

"By the way, I'll have you know that I was being 100 percent truthful with you back before you decided to run. The bet with Tsunade-sama is real. And it is now a bet I've won." Sakura smiled. "Week off here I come!"

"Happy to help, Sakura." Naruto weakly chuckled. So if that bet was real, that meant that's what that kiss was all about. Tsunade must've made some sort of stipulation that Sakura couldn't give him some peck. That made sense actually. Sakura really wanted tomorrow off for the stupid art exhibit thing, so she wouldn't want to take a chance that Tsunade would discount the kiss. She wouldn't want to risk having to kiss him again. She obviously just went all out like that so she could ensure that she won her bet.

"And to think, if you hadn't run, you could be looking forward to an entire half-year filled with dates with me." Sakura chided with a teasing smile on her face, oblivious to the negative thoughts swirling through Naruto's head.

"I don't suppose we can still abide by the deal?"

"You're the one who called it off." Sakura grinned. "Not a smart decision on your part."

Naruto let out a dramatic sigh, but said nothing else. He was afraid if he talked too much, he would ask Sakura about their kiss. That clearly wasn't what she wanted. So instead, he just sat there in silence as she worked for the next ten minutes. By the time the green chakra faded from her hands, he was feeling as good as new.

"There you go. It's like I never beat the crap out of you!" Sakura attempted to chuckle. She felt guiltier and guiltier as she healed him. She replayed what caused the damage in her mind as she healed him. She definitely went overboard. He would have needed to spend some time in the hospital if she hadn't been able to heal him… even with Kurama's natural healing.

"Oh yeah…" Naruto snorted.

"Naruto… I just want to say that… I'm sorry." Naruto didn't say anything, because he wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. Was she apologizing for beating the crap out of him? Or was she going to apologize for kissing him, because she didn't have any feelings for him?

"What are you sorry for?"

"For beating the crap out of you like that! You don't deserve it… I just… I didn't understand why you would go to such lengths to avoid kissing me, and it hurt. I shouldn't have reacted that way, but…"

"Sakura, stop." Naruto interrupted. "Do you have a temper? Oh yeah. Do you have a tendency to get carried away? Definitely. Would I ever change that about you? No way. You are a fiery, energetic woman, and it is one of the many things I love about you. And as crazy as it sounds, even though it's detrimental to my health, I like that I'm the only one who can get you so riled up."

"You're something else, know that?" Sakura said, flashing him a beautiful smile. "I don't know many people in this world who go out of their way to make the person that beat the crap out of them feel better. You know what… maybe you're a sadist."

"I do NOT enjoy pain!"

"I don't know, you stick around me all the time…"

"That's because I…" Naruto caught himself this time. He wouldn't blurt out that he loved her again. Especially not if she didn't want to acknowledge their kiss. That was a clear signal that she wasn't interested in him like that.

"Because you…" Sakura pressed.

"Don't you have to go wrap up your bet so you can start planning your day tomorrow?" Naruto deflected.

Sakura was a little disappointed in his deflection, but he had a point. She had a map of the exhibit at home, and she wanted to come up with a perfect plan to ensure that she had plenty of time to admire each and every piece of art.

"I guess you're right. Wanna come with me to see Lady Tsunade?"

"Nah, I'm good. Enjoy your day off tomorrow."

"Thanks." Sakura turned her back and frowned. It was a rare occurrence that Naruto passed up on a chance to spend time with her. And he didn't once bring up their kiss. She had been waiting for him the whole time she was healing him. She took a step, but didn't take another.

That kiss was breath-taking. She loved the way his lips felt against hers, and things just sort of clicked into place while they were making out. She hadn't been sure how she felt about him for a while, but that kiss sure cleared things up. She, Sakura Haruno, definitely liked Naruto Uzumaki. But maybe the kiss had a reverse effect on him. It would be just her luck that the kiss that caused sparks to fly for her stopped the sparks for him.

She didn't like that thought one bit. She opened her mouth to say something, but didn't really know what to say.

Naruto could see that Sakura stopped, but he couldn't see her face. He wasn't sure why she wasn't walking. He waited to see if she was going to say anything. Whatever stopped her, she seemed to decide against saying anything. She started walking away again, but this time, Naruto's mouth opened on its own accord.

"Wait! Sakura… I need to ask you something… that kiss… was that just all about the bet?"

Sakura froze at Naruto's voice and smiled at his words. Someone who wasn't interested wouldn't ask that question. She kept her back to him so she could play with him some.

"It was." She replied. She could practically feel Naruto's disappointed frown. "The first one anyways. That whole makeout session, that was for something else." She spun around and walked back to him.

"And that something else would be…" Naruto timidly asked. They were talking about the kiss, and Sakura was smiling at him. It seemed to be a good sign, but he still couldn't be sure.

"Well, when we kissed, it felt amazing, and everything sort of just clicked. Naruto, I like you. And I hope you want to do that again!"

A happy grin spread across Naruto's face. "Hell yeah I do! Let's do it now!"

"Tempting, but you made a good point earlier, I do need to go collect on my bet with Tsunade so I can start planning for tomorrow."

"Ah what's a little longer? We can just…hey!" Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand, turned around and started pulling him with her towards the Hokage Tower.

"You can't just ignore me like that, Sakura!"

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Sakura asked, purposefully ignoring Naruto's comment.

"Not going to a stupid art exhibit." Naruto replied. He loved Sakura, but he could care less about some crappy paintings and dumb statues. The only art he cared about was the hokage monument.

"Is that so? No missions then?"

"Nope. I'm off."

"Then I'll make sure to include you in my plans then!"

"No! No art exhibits!"

"Tell you what, just because I like you, I'll offer you a special deal. You come with me to the art exhibit tomorrow and help me plan for it tonight, and I'll agree to go on a date with you, at least once a week, for the next six months."

Naruto perked up at that offer. It sounded very familiar. "You know… you already agreed to it earlier. And we did kiss…"

"Again, you are the one who called off that deal. I'm trying to be nice to you here. I don't have to give you incentive, I could just make you go tomorrow."

"You can't just make me go!"

"Do you want to test that? I'll take the deal off the table, and then I'll make you come anyways." Sakura flashed him a particularly cute smile, just as they started nearing the hokage tower.

"Ok! Fine. Deal!" Now that they had both established that they liked each other, and they both happened to enjoy kissing each other, Naruto didn't doubt that Sakura couldn't find a way to convince him to go tomorrow.

"Good!" Sakura grinned. She pulled him inside the tower and the two of them walked into Tsunade's office. She was surprised to find both Ino and Sasuke sitting in the office along with Tsunade. The three of them were grinning like idiots for some reason. Well… Ino and Tsunade were. Sasuke was just smirking.

Whatever they were grinning (and smirking) about, Sakura didn't care. She had things to do.

"Sakura, Naruto, what brings you by?" Tsunade greeted.

"I'm here to collect on our bet. I decided I would bring Naruto here just to make sure you accept that I won." Sakura turned into Naruto and gave him a long kiss. She winked at him as she pulled away.

"There, bet won."

"You seem to be taken with him." Tsunade noted, with an amused look on her face.

"Well I am." Sakura replied without a second of hesitation. She flashed Naruto yet another smile. "Your bet was weird and crazy, but I don't hate it. Things are a lot clearer now. So do I have tomorrow off?"

"A deal's a deal. You get the rest of the week off. Oh, and Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"The three of us were watching every moment on the Third's Crystal ball." Tsunade grinned. "So I know that you had already won the bet before you came in here."

Sakura blushed a little, but she didn't back down. "Tease me all you want. I won't be ashamed of kissing my boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend?" Naruto gasped.

"Assuming you agree… yeah."

"HELL YEAH I DO! I'M SAKURA'S BOYFRIEND! IN YOUR FACE SASUKE!"

"I don't care you idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he cracked a small smile nonetheless.

"Quiet down, Naruto! People work here! If that will be all, Naruto and I will be going now. I hope you three enjoyed the show." With that, the new couple took their leave.

"You are a genius, Lady Tsunade." Ino said, once she was sure Sakura was out of ear shot.

"Of course I am!" Tsunade grinned. "But why exactly are you bringing this up now?"

"That bet! You knew that once Sakura kissed Naruto everything would click for her. And having Naruto run like that made sure Sakura didn't take the kiss for granted!"

"I'll admit, that was pretty clever, Lady Hokage." Sasuke agreed.

"What are you two talking about? I just thought it would be hilarious if Sakura was chasing Naruto around trying to kiss him! Obviously, I was correct!"

"So you… you were just messing with them for your entertainment?" Ino asked, sweat dropping down the back of her head.

"Well there was nothing to do!"

"Let's not tell Sakura and Naruto that…" Sasuke muttered. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had been bored until that all happened himself.

"So now what?" Ino asked. "It's only 2:30."

Tsunade thought about it for a few seconds before another mischievous glint flashed across her eyes. She quickly scribbled down a set of instructions on a piece of paper.

"Sasuke, go get Hinata and bring her here. I have a bet I want to make with her. Ino, go find Kiba and do what the instructions on this piece of paper say."

"That's your plan? Just do the same thing over again?" Sasuke asked.

"Do either of you two have any other ideas?"

"…I'll be back with Hinata."

"A jutsu that makes dogs hate you? How the… you know what, Kiba will probably buy this. You make sure you have that crystal ball ready! I'll be back soon!"

Tsunade grinned as Sasuke and Ino left. She had officially found her new favorite way to pass time!

* * *

Fin! Share your thoughts via review!


End file.
